1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rotation control of a screen display of a terminal. More particularly, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to a method for controlling the rotation of a screen display of a terminal according to a user request regardless of a position state of the terminal (e.g. regardless of whether or not the terminal is laid flat).
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the use of a portable terminal in various fields, such as in the industrial and life sciences fields, has become popular. This is in part due to the size of the terminal which makes it convenient to carry the terminal while supporting various user functions. Meanwhile, a conventional portable terminal supports a certain user function that can be changed according to user setting based on terminal state information to satisfy convenience or needs of a user. For instance, the conventional portable terminal changes a direction output of a screen according to a state or position of a terminal. That is, the direction of the screen of the terminal can be changed to a landscape mode direction or a transverse or picture mode direction, according to an orientation and elevation of the terminal with respect to a flat surface.
However, such a screen control function of the conventional terminal is supported only under certain conditions. That is, the conventional terminal has a disadvantage that a screen rotation control function cannot be supported if the terminal is laid flat on the ground. In other words, the conventional terminal needs to be slanted at a greater than a predetermined angle to control the orientation of a screen. Accordingly, although the terminal is rotated, to control the orientation of the screen a user needs to also elevate the screen. Such additional operation may cause a significant inconvenience to the user in a situation in which a terminal is put on a desk and a writing work is performed or a drawing work is performed. When the terminal is put on a desk or laid flat on the desk and screen rotation is required while information reading or writing is performed, the user needs to grasp and rotate the terminal such that the terminal is slanted at an angle greater than a predetermined angle.